NEW YORK -- Bernie Williams and his New York Yankees teammates walked anxiously into the armory where people gathered for news of their loved ones missing after last week's terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center.

Unsure what to say to the grieving people, Williams was brought to one woman searching for a missing family member and said the only thing he could: "It looks like you need a hug."

The two embraced and the woman started crying.

"It was a very tough situation," Williams recalled Sunday. "It was one of those things I'll never forget."

Many of the Yankees took a tour of the city Saturday night, visiting the armory, a staging area for weary rescue workers, and a hospital where doctors were waiting to treat injured survivors who never came.

It was the first time many of them had made it anywhere close to the scene of Tuesday's attacks.

"I sort of feel a little more useful now," manager Joe Torre said. "That is the only way to describe it.

"We went there not knowing how we would be received. We left there knowing it was a very important stop for us."

All of the Yankees who made the trip downtown Saturday were indelibly moved by the sights and people they saw.

Most memorable was the wall of pictures of the missing people outside the armory -- less than three miles north of where the twin towers once stood.

"It hits you square in the face," Scott Brosius said. "Everyone of those people is in a place we hope will never have to be."

The players sensed that their visit brought a rare smile to the families and rescue workers who have had little to be happy about since Tuesday.

Few people wanted to talk homers and strikeouts, but almost everyone wanted to meet Derek Jeter.

"You go and see the firemen and all the rescue workers and they ask you for your autographs," Jeter said. "You feel like you should be asking them for your autographs. They are the heroes. It was overwhelming to get that kind of reaction."

The Yankees worked out for the second straight day in New York before flying to Chicago to restart the season Tuesday against the White Sox.

Many of the players -- including Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, David Justice and Tino Martinez -- hadn't made it back to New York, but were expected to join the team in Chicago.

Torre, who compared his visit Saturday to a trip to the U.S. soldiers in Vietnam in 1966, hopes baseball's return will help the nation's healing.

"Maybe we can help in trying to lighten the mood," he said. "We're not going to make people happy, but maybe we can give people a couple hours away from all of this."

Notes
OF Paul O'Neill won't make the trip to Chicago because of his injured left foot. O'Neill hopes to join the team next weekend in Baltimore. "I hope it feels better in three or four days to the point where I can do things on the field," he said. ... RHP Orlando Hernandez will start Tuesday against the White Sox. Torre will announce the rest of his rotation Monday. ... Brosius, out since Aug. 1 with a broken bone in his left hand, and Jeter (strained left hamstring) are expected back in the lineup Tuesday.